Far away for far too long
by hameronaddict aka literatigirl
Summary: 11 months after “The Real Paul Anka”: Sometimes you are just too stupid to see what lies directly in front of your eyes. And sometimes epiphany comes too late. M for content in subsequent chapters. Literati and bits of JavaJunkie. Please R&R.
1. Unfaithful

_Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing._

_A.N.: This takes place 11 months after "The Real Paul Anka". Everything that happened after that episode, did not happen._

_English is not my first language, so I'm really sorry if there are many slips in the grammar._

_And now: On with the story!_

* * *

**UNFAITHFUL**

One of the first days in spring drew to a close when Rory turned into the parking lot in front of the apartment which she was sharing with Logan. She had spent a couple of days in Stars Hollow to think. Their relationship was going through rough times recently and she had to take hold of clear thoughts. She had come back one day ahead of schedule, because she hadn't wanted to postpone the conversation with Logan any longer. She wanted to make the decision whether their relationship still had sense at all dependent on this talk.

She entered the hallway and made a beeline for the apartment door.

"Damn! Where is that stupid key?"

Rory rummaged inside her far too big bag in front of the door. She clearly needed a smaller bag but her mother would never allow this since they usually used this bag to nick food for Paul Anka from Luke's diner when Luke didn't pay attention. A smaller bag would affect the nutritional status of their dog inevitably because Paul Anka refused to eat anything else.

Luke suspected Kirk of stealing the remainders on the plates, ever since he caught Kirk sneaking around in the kitchen. Therefore he was constantly under surveillance. Of course Lorelai went one step further to divert the suspicion from herself. Rory laughed inwardly at this crazy thought.

"Gotcha!" she said to herself when she finally found the key at the bottom of her bag.

_GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG_

The apartment was brightly illuminated. Rory had to shut her eyes for a moment because it was a sharp contrast to the dark hallway. Well, at least it indicated that Logan had to be at home. Lately this hadn't been natural all along. Generally the parties with his friends seemed more important to him than everything else.

Rory sighed and closed the door behind herself. The last time the apartment was illuminated like that, the Life and Death Brigade held their annual fuddle-billiard-competition whose rules changed with every glass of whiskey and finally led to only drinking and no more playing. She was definitely not in the mood for something like that at the moment.

Rory cut her way through the apartment. Obviously the Brigade had adjourned to the bedroom because she heard music and laughter from this direction.

"Great! Now he is dragging the guys into our bedroom. What next?" she muttered under her breath.

She swung the door open and froze at the sight presenting right in front of her.

"Logan!" she yelled. "What the heck…?"

She wasn't able to complete her sentence because she suddenly felt very nauseous.

Startled, Logan let up on the tall blonde he was just intimately entangled with. Rolling over he grabbed his boxers and put them on as fast as he could under the covers. The girl emulated his deeds with a shocked expression on her face.

"Jesus, Rory! What are you doing here?"

"I live here!" she hissed.

"But I thought you wouldn't be home till tomorrow?" he replied dumbfounded. He left the bed and followed her into the living room.

"I am so stupid! How could I've ever believed you when you promised you wouldn't do it again!?"

"It's not what it looks like. Please let me explain."

"I'm not _that_ stupid, Logan." She turned on her heel and stormed in the direction of the door.

"I love you, Ace!" he cat-called at her retreating back.

She spun around and glared at him angrily. "Oh, _that's_ why you are having it off with that bitch behind my back?"

"I…" he started but he was cut off by her.

"Shut up! I can't take it any longer. It's over. Finally! I should have done this a long time ago."

She made the last few steps towards the apartment door and opened it.

"Please stay. Let us work this out!" he pleaded.

She hesitated for a moment and looked back at him over her shoulder with a scowl.

"There is nothing to work out anymore. I'm through with you. And don't dare to call me, talk to me or even think of me."

With this she slammed the door shut. She was glad that Logan did not follow her even though she was sure that it was probably merely his vanity that held him back. Logan in the hallway clad only in his boxer shorts? He would not give himself this bareness.

By the time she reached the parking lot, tears were streaming down her face. It had gotten colder and the lovely spring day had changed into an overcast night. Breathless, she reached her car, unlocked the door and left with squealing tires.

A myriad of emotions ran through her. She was relieved because she had finally made the right decision but mostly she was angry at herself for taking such a long time to realize it. Then there was Jess! _Hmmm, Jess! _The mere thought of him made her heart beat faster. Since their kiss in Philadelphia she knew deep inside that she had deceived herself regarding Logan. But like she always did she shoved these thoughts away. She didn't want to acknowledge to herself that she had made a huge mistake. Her relationship with Jess was dangerous territory and she wouldn't dare to put a foot in it if she wanted to come out alive.

After a few minutes and the hundred per cent certainty that Logan hadn't followed her, Rory pulled over. She took her cell out of her purse and pushed the 1 on her speed dial.


	2. Homecoming

_Disclaimer: I own nothing._

_A.N.: Sorry for this being so short. I decided to split the second chapter in two to allow a faster update. Thank you so much for your reviews. ;)_

* * *

**HOMECOMING**

"Offspring! Wow, only two hours since you left Stars Hollow - your beloved hometown - and you are already homesick? That's a new record!" Lorelai said cheerily.

"Or are you calling for the simple reason that you left your Danish on the kitchen table?! In this case I have to fail you because I have already taken care of it. I mean it wasn't just a Danish, it was a cherry Danish and the last one at that. So it is only natural that I have eaten it or rather shared it – with Paul Anka. I owed this to him since he must be starving because you have the big bag and…"

Lorelai was cut off by a strange gagging sound in the background that was obviously Paul Anka throwing up.

"Oh, …by the way…we need a new carpet." she concluded.

When her daughter kept quiet she started to get worried.

"Rory are you there?! Is something wrong? Why don't you say anything?"

"Mom?" Rory sobbed.

"What happened, honey?" Lorelai asked growing more worried every second.

"I…and…he…and...then…" she brought out between sobs.

"Whoa! Slow down. Mommy's not with you at the moment."

"It's Logan." Rory answered trying to pull herself together.

"What about him?"

"It's over."

"What? Why?"

"I …he…" She didn't really know how to put it. "I caught him red-handed!"

"What? This little schmuck. I'm going to kill him."

"Forget it! He is so much stronger than you." Rory added with mock seriousness.

"Right. In that case I'm going to send Luke."

"But what are you going to do with the body?"

"You have a point there." Lorelai seemed to ponder over the situation for a moment. "Then let me at least rename my voodoo doll and stick needles in his crotch."

"Ouch!" Rory replied her tears almost forgotten. "Wait!…What's its name right now?"

"Emily."

"You are an evil woman."

"I try my best."

Lorelai was content that she seemed to distract Rory successfully.

"Where are you right now?" she asked.

"In my car not far from the apartment."

"Why don't you come home for now? I get everything edible that I can find and unplug the telephone."

"That sounds great. See you soon."

"Drive safely."

Rory turned her car and moved off towards Stars Hollow. When the place-name sign came in view half an hour later, even a small smile played on her lips.

_GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG_

When she arrived in her mother's driveway, Rory jumped out of her car and slammed the door behind herself. She could turn around just in time before her mother who came dashing toward her, fell into her arms.

At the sight of this embrace one would have been able to assume that they hadn't seen each other for ages. Actually they had said good bye only a few hours ago.

After a couple of seconds the two separated from each other and Lorelai took her daughter's face into both hands. She tenderly stroked a strand out of Rory eyes and looked at her inquiringly.

"Are you okay?" she asked anxiously.

Rory nodded. "Much better than I was half an hour ago."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No, I'd rather forget all of this as fast as possible."

"In that case I know exactly the right thing."

Followed by a tail-wagging Paul Anka who obviously had overcome his upset stomach by now, they went arm in arm into the house, closing the door behind them. The rest of the night only belonged to Rory, Lorelai, Pippi Longstocking and Sponge Bob.


	3. Picking up the pieces

_Disclaimer: I still don't own anything._

_A.N.: Thank you very much for your reviews. I love feedback. ;) This is the last chapter of the prologue. I promise that Jess will be in the next chapter. What is a literati-story without him?! _

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**PICKING UP THE PIECES**

The first rays of sunshine tickled Lorelai's nose when she awoke on the couch in the next morning. How so often at their video evenings together, both of them hadn't made it into bed any more and had fallen asleep at some point between Pippi in Taka-Tuka-Land and The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie.

Lorelai sat up slowly and took in her surroundings. Obviously, she was the only one on the couch. Rory was nowhere in sight.

"Rory?" she called, her voice still laced with sleep.

"Kitchen." she heard her respond.

She stood up and shuffled towards the kitchen. She found Rory standing at the window with a far-away look on her face.

"Hey, why are you up so early?" Lorelai asked and sat down at the kitchen table, eyeing her daughter suspiciously.

"I couldn't sleep any more." Rory replied, still looking out the window.

"What are you doing?"

"Just thinking."

"About what?"

"Stuff."

"Stuff?" Lorelai asked annoyed by the monosyllabic answers she was receiving. "Come on, Rory. Tell Mommy!" she added with a childish voice.

Rory turned away from the window and sat down opposite her mother.

"I was thinking that all my belongings are still in Logan's apartment and that I have to pick them up eventually. I just don't want to run across him."

"Don't worry. I will take care of that." Lorelai tried to reassure her daughter.

"Really? Would you do this?"

"Sure!"

"Thanks, Mom!"

"Hey! Why don't you just stay here for a while? You can have your old room."

"Well, actually … I have already talked to Paris on the phone this morning. I can move in with her again."

"That's great."

"I think she was even pleased about it. Of course she has held me a long lecture at first about Logan being a jerk and that she always knew that this would end badly one day and that she will neuter him if he dares to cross her path once again."

"Way to go, Paris!" Lorelai interjected.

"Yeah."

"Paris Geller – avenger of the cheated ones."

They burst out in laughter at this crazy thought.

"By the way, have we really decided to buy a monkey and a horse last night?"

"I think _that_ was a dream." Rory answered, feigning seriousness.

"Thank goodness! I don't think that our porch could sustain the weight of a horse."

Lorelai stood up and grabbed the telephone.

"What are you doing?" Rory asked baffled.

"I'm taking care of your little problem."

"How?"

"Watch and memorize." Lorelai replied and started to dial. "Damn!" she suddenly cried out.

"What?"

"Our telephone is broken."

"Mom!" Rory giggled. "The plug!"

"Oh!...Right!" Lorelai put the plug back in and dialed anew. "I was just testing you. …You passed."

"Who are you calling?"

Lorelai motioned her daughter to be quiet.

"Luke's Diner?!" answered a squealing voice at the other end.

"Caesar? This is Lorelai. Get Luke to the phone." she demanded.

"He is upstairs, doing the monthly settlement and he wouldn't like to be disturbed."

"That wasn't a request! If you do not immediately fetch Luke, there soon will be no more caesar salad at Luke's because there will be no-one with this name anymore to prepare it. Understood?"

"I hate you."

"Ditto."

"He fetches Luke." Lorelai whispered in her daughter's direction, holding a hand over the mouthpiece.

"What does the whole thing have to do with Luke?" Rory asked.

"Shush! Wait and see!"

"Lorelai?! Luke says he will call you back later." Caesar told her unnerved.

"No, Caesar. I have to talk to him _now_. Tell him I'm pregnant and I'm not sure which wallpapers I'd like to have in the nursery."

"As you wish."

A few minutes later, she heard a loud thud that sounded like a heavy man, falling down the stairs. She could hear Luke swearing angrily and shortly afterwards he was on the phone.

"You are pregnant?" he asked breathlessly.

"Luke! Calm down! I was just kidding." Lorelai tried to lull him.

"That isn't funny. Jeez! I caught at least five bruises and my cook crouches anxiously at the foot of the stairs because he was in the way when I came down."

"I have to talk to you." Lorelai cut him off before he could say anything else.

"And that couldn't wait till later?"

"Rory broke up with Logan." she didn't really answer his question.

"What happened?" he asked taken aback.

"He has cheated on her again."

"What? If I get my hands on him, I will…"

"Luke!" she interrupted him. "We need your help."

"I'm on my way."

"Oh, and bring pancakes" she added before he could hang up. "And coffee…lots of coffee"

_GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG_

A couple of minutes later, it knocked at the door.

"Our breakfast is here." Lorelai announced, hurried to the door and tore it open.

"You've got wings, baby." she said with a flirtatious smile and wrested the bag and the coffee out of his hands. "What would I do without you?"

Luke followed her flabbergasted into the kitchen.

"I'm pleased to see you, too." he commented and sat down next to Rory at the kitchen table.

"Hey, Rory! You know I am not particularly good in such things. But are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Thanks, Luke!"

"How can I help you?"

Lorelai took a sip of her coffee and eyed Paul Anka who seemed very interested in a slice of pizza of the previous day.

"You must help me to get Rory's stuff from Logan's apartment." she told him.

"That goes without saying. We can take my truck."

"Don't forget to bring Mr. Snuggles with you under any circumstances." Rory chimed in.

"Who is Mr. Snuggles?" Luke asked and looked confusedly at Lorelai.

"Rory's favorite cuddly toy. The one she has ever since she was born." she told him.

"Oh, the pig!"

"It's a bear." Rory called indignantly.

"But it's pink!" Luke tried to reason.

"So what?" Lorelai asked, not getting the point.

"Ah, forget it!" Luke surrendered. He knew that it was pointless to argue with a 'Gilmore Girl'. "When do we hit the road?"

"Pronto, at best. Let's get it over with ASAP."

"Okay, come on."

Lorelai grabbed her purse and went to the door with Luke hot on her heels. Before she left the house she turned around one last time and called: "Rory, can I take a message? A kick or something like that?"

Rory remained silent.

"Has she said something?" Luke asked Lorelai, not sure if he'd missed her response.

"You shall remove the cap and undo the first buttons of your shirt because that looks more dangerous."

"Why do I ask at all!?" he stated grumpily.

"Because I'm irresistible." she answered, batting her eyelashes.

_GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG_

When they arrived at the apartment, Lorelai's hope to find it emptily changed into disillusionment when she spotted Logan's car in front of the building. She looked up at the facade and sighed.

"Here we go!"

They entered the hallway and went straight to Logan's apartment door. Luke knocked and they waited tensely for the door to open.

After a couple of seconds which to Lorelai seemed like an eternity, Logan tore up the door. His initially eager facial expression changed at the sight of Luke and Lorelai in disappointment.

"Where is Rory?" he asked. "I have to talk to her and she isn't answering her cell phone."

"Hmmm… maybe she isn't answering her cell because she called it quits!?" Lorelai answered venomously and squeezed past Logan followed by Luke. "We are here to get her stuff."

"Does that mean she isn't giving me a chance to explain what happened?"

"Exactly."

"But…" Logan started but was cut off by Luke who had planted himself in front of him and angrily snatched off his cap.

"You have intermission now. Isn't there some girl you can amuse yourself with? If not then stay out of my way and try to breathe as little as possible. I need a lot of oxygen and I can easily get angry if one breathes too much away. Understood?"

"But I…." Logan tried again.

"Understood?!"

"Yes, Sir!"

Luke spun around and followed Lorelai into the living room.

"Luke, you've forgotten the buttons." she teased.

"Shut up!"

_GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG_

Luke and Lorelai spend the next half-hour packing Rory's stuff in boxes while Logan watched the hustle and bustle quietly with a glass of whiskey in his hand.

Lorelai had already gone down to the truck when Luke dragged the last box of books towards the door. Suddenly, he noticed that they had forgotten the most important thing.

"Where is Mr. Snuggles?" he asked Logan.

"Who?"

"Don't make such a fuss!" Luke demanded. "Rory's cuddly toy."

"The pig?"

"It's a bear." he growled.

"But it's…" Logan tried to argue but he was interrupted by Luke.

"Pink. I know. Don't ask! Where is it?"

"In the bedroom, under the bed."

Luke fetched the cuddly toy quickly and scowled at Logan while leaving.

"Stay away from Rory. If you call her, bother her or merely breathe in her direction, I will pull your limbs out one at a time. Capice?"

Logan nodded dumbfounded and Luke looked at the bear skeptically.

"A bear! What a load of rubbish!"

He slammed the door loudly and left the house with the last box.

On the drive back to Stars Hollow, Lorelai eyed Luke up from the side.

"Luke?" she purred.

"What?" he answered sullenly.

"Will you undo the buttons for me tonight?"

"But the cap stays put."


	4. Busted!

_Disclaimer: Still own nothing._

_A__.N: I had a really hard time writing this chapter. I don't know why but it took me forever and my lack of concentration wasn't helping either. I changed the story from 6 to 11 months after "The Real Paul Anka" because I found out recently that the episode was set in April (not September like I first thought). _

_But now on with the fourth chapter._

* * *

**BUSTED!**

A month later Lorelai sat in Luke's Diner and enjoyed her sixth cup of coffee in this morning. The first rush was over and apart from her Kirk was the only customer. He sat at the counter and poked at his breakfast lost in thought. When Luke disappeared into the kitchen, Lorelai sensed her chance. She left the table at which she just had sat and started to let the remains of the recently gone customers disappear into the bag she had brought along. When she arrived at the counter she stopped in front of Kirk and asked with a mastered look:

"Do you want to eat that yet?"

Taken aback, Kirk looked up and asked baffled:

"Why? Is anything wrong with my breakfast?"

"Well…"

"I knew it." he chimed in. "It has somehow tasted odd."

Lorelai thought about a good way to put him off his meal and meanwhile pull his leg well and truly.

"I tell you this because you're my friend. Okay?"

Kirk nodded insecurely.

"Caesar had a bit of a stomach problem this morning and he has therefore fetched a laxative from the drugstore." Lorelai continued undeterred. "And well…it has disappeared mysteriously."

Kirk had dropped his fork abruptly.

"You think there is a chance that it was in my breakfast?" he asked horrified.

"That would be possible."

"Oh my god!" he squealed and leaped from his seat. "I'm allergic to laxatives. The effect of it increases tenfold with me. The last time I couldn't leave the toilet a whole week."

Beads of sweat had already formed on his forehead.

"Oh my god! It's starting." he squeaked, apparently convinced that the medicine already began to work. "I need a toilet. Where is the next toilet?"

"Upstairs." Lorelai replied and had to refrain from laughing.

"But nobody is allowed to go up there! That's strictly forbidden."

"That's okay! Really! Just go up!" she tried to convince him but he did not budge. "Hurry! I think it was a very strong kind."

At that Kirk instantly spun on his heel and stumbled up the stairs as fast as he could. When he was out of earshot Lorelai began to put the remains of his breakfast in her bag.

"What the heck are you doing there?!" a gruff voice suddenly asked.

Alarmed, she dropped the bag and looked innocently over to Luke who stood in the kitchen doorway and scowled.

"Nothing." she replied cautiously.

"You were this? All the time?" It was more a statement than a question.

Lorelai knew that denying was useless. Her cover was blown. She shrugged her shoulders sheepishly.

"I'm waiting to hear your explanation!" he pressed.

"It's for Paul Anka."

"What?" he countered aghast. "You stole food for your dog? Why would you do something like that? Are you out of your mind?"

"Stole is such a harsh word. I would say I borrowed it."

"Lorelai!" he scolded.

"He hates dog food." she confessed eventually. "Particularly the one of Doose's Market. Have you smelled this before? It's disgusting. No wonder that he…"

"You could have asked me."

"But it was more fun that way, wasn't it?"

"You're crazy! I'm marrying a lunatic!"

"But a markedly pretty lunatic." she countered flashing him a flirtatious smile. When she only got a grunt in response she added:

"Oh, come on! It was hilarious how you chased Kirk through the whole diner to frisk him because you thought he was the delinquent. He was screaming like a little girl."

"Hilarious!" he answered with dry sarcasm.

"Speaking of which…"

At this moment Kirk emerged behind the curtain which concealed the stairs leading to Luke's apartment.

"False alarm!" he called happily. "Thank God! I'm favored by fortune."

"What the hell were you doing up there?" Luke who had planted himself in front of Kirk snapped at him angrily.

"I…um…" Kirk stuttered intimidated.

Luke spun around and directed his wrathful gaze towards Lorelai.

"Lorelai! What was he doing up there?"

Before she was able to open her mouth Kirk decided to take the matter into his own hands.

"Lorelai said I could use your bathroom." he explained. "By the way which brand of toilet paper do you use? I found it a little too woody. I could recommend mine to you if you are interested."

"NO!" Luke pointed out as plain as can be. "Why didn't you use your own bathroom?"

"It was an emergency."

"What kind of emergency?"

"Lorelai told me about the mishap with the laxative." Kirk blurted out.

"Mishap? Laxative? Lorelai! What the hell is going on?"

Lorelai backed off a few steps towards the door and reached for her bag.

"It has just occurred to me that I still have to take care of something quite urgently."

"You stay!" Luke commanded blocking her way. "Unless I'm very much mistaken you have a finger in the pie. And until I've got an answer you will go nowhere."

"Well…"

"Still waiting!"

"Um, maybe I told Kirk that there would be a slight chance of a laxative being in his breakfast. And maybe I just made the whole story up to take him for a ride."

"What? Why would you do that?"

"It was fun and I wanted to get his remains."

"You are indeed crazy!" Luke stated. "Correct me if I'm wrong! First you steal food out of my diner and let me blame Kirk for it and now you go and tell my customers stories about contaminated food to accomplish your goal. And to crown it all they are stupid enough to believe you." He turned around and shot a glance at Kirk. "No offence, Kirk!" Immediately, he turned back addressing Lorelai once again. "I can't grasp it!"

"The story was just bogus?" Kirk asked dumbfounded. It had obviously taken a while until he realized what was going on.

"I'm sorry, Kirk!" she replied guiltily.

"You just wanted to make fun of me?" he asked in an incredulous intonation ignoring her apology.

"I already said that I'm sorry. Okay?"

"You hurt my feelings, Lorelai." he whined. "I thought we were friends but obviously you find it funny to jibe at me. First my mother and now you."

"We are friends, Kirk. I'm really sorry. How can I make amends for it?"

"You can't. It's too late." Kirk replied huffily.

"Think about it. I'd do anything." she purred.

"Anything?" he asked hopefully.

"Anything!"

"Okay, I will think about it." he confirmed grinning from ear to ear.

Satisfied with herself she turned towards Luke and kissed him on the cheek.

"I will go home then and think about my disgraceful behavior."

"I should hope so." Luke retorted gruffly.

After the door had closed behind her back he let out a sigh of relief. As much as she managed to drive him up the wall sometimes he couldn't help but love her. And secretly – although he'd never admit it to anyone - he loved her little follies as well. It simply never got boring with Lorelai Gilmore.

Suddenly it occurred to him what he had intended to do before this wacky incident. He took off his cap, stroked through his hair and returned behind the counter calling in the direction of the kitchen.

"Caesar could you stand in for me for a while?"

He heard the clatter of dishes and then the grumpy voice of his employee.

"If it must be."

_GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG_

Arrived on the upper storey Luke entered his former apartment that only served as an office now that he had moved in with his fiancé. His previous habitation hadn't changed much. Actually everything was still on the spot except for most of his clothes and his personal belongings.

He strode to the table, took a seat on one of the chairs and grabbed the telephone. Taking a deep breath, he dialed a number that had meanwhile become very familiar to him and waited impatiently for someone to pick up the phone.

"Hello?" answered an acquainted voice on the other end of the line.

"Hey, it's Luke!"

"Hey, to what do I owe the honor?"

"Well…" Luke trailed off not knowing how to begin.

"If you want your book 'HOW TO STAY SANE IN A SMALL TOWN' back, I have to disappoint you. I'm not through with it yet." Jess interjected sounding amused when he gave his uncle the little dig.

"Ha ha, very funny. Actually I wanted the book 'HOW I PROTECT MYSELF FROM SWAN ATTACKS' back." Luke shot back beating his nephew at his own game.

"Touché!" Jess stated approvingly with a light chuckle in his voice. "So, what's up?"

"I have some news I wanted to tell you."

"Shoot!"

"We finally set a date."

"Who?"

"Lorelai and me."

"For what?" Jess asked enjoying the little inquiry-response game.

"Our wedding!"

"Wow! Are you pregnant?"

"Don't be a wise-ass." Luke responded gruffly.

Jess chuckled lightly on the other end of the line enjoying their little banter and said in a very sincere tone: "Seriously, I'm really happy for you. It was about time."

"Thanks, nephew. But that's not the only reason I'm calling."

"Okay."

"I wanted to ask you if you'd be my best man."

"Really?" Jess asked astonished. "Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure. Otherwise I wouldn't have asked."

"I mean, does Lorelai have nothing against me coming to your wedding? Last time I checked, she wanted my balls on a platter."

"She'll get over it." Luke assured him.

"If you say so."

"So?" Luke asked referring to his earlier question.

"What?" Jess responded knowing exactly what his uncle meant but not able to resist the urge to let him repeat his question.

"Don't play dumb, Jess." Luke countered irritated. "Will you be my best man?"

"It'd be my pleasure."

"Great."

After a short pause where neither of them said anything, Jess was the first to break the silence.

"So, have you already planned everything? The reception, the honeymoon and so on?"

"Mostly, but I don't think that we will go on a honeymoon."

"What?" Jess asked puzzled. "How so?"

"Well… The last time I left Caesar alone with the diner, he almost burned down the kitchen. I couldn't enjoy my honeymoon if I'm constantly afraid of losing my subsistence."

"Huh." Jess pondered over the situation while thoughtfully scratching the back of his head. Suddenly he had an obvious idea. "I could take care of the diner for two weeks after the wedding."

"Oh, no. I can't ask you to do that."

"You're not asking, I'm offering."

"What about your job?" Luke tried to reason.

"I can take the days off."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"But then let me at least pay you."

"No way!"

"I insist!"

"So, when will the great event take place?" Jess asked quickly changing the subject.

"June 16th."

"Great! That suits me fine! I have some appointments in the surrounding area at the beginning of June. Since I'm already in the region I could come two weeks sooner if that's okay with you. That way you could have some time off to get ready for your wedding and I can go to my appointments from there just as well."

"Sounds good."

"Cool! So, see you in six weeks?"

"See you in six weeks."

"Keep me posted!"

"I will."

A click on the other end of the line told Luke that his nephew had hung up. Smiling contentedly he did the same.

_GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG_

When he re-entered the diner, Kirk was still sitting in the same position in which he had left him earlier. Hearing footsteps the other man lifted his head with a big smile on his face. Luke knew this facial expression all too well and he also knew that there was no way he could escape Kirk if he had taken something into his head. Wanting to get it over with as soon as possible, he asked irritated:

"What do you want Kirk?"

"I want to be your wedding planner." it suddenly bubbled out of Kirk. "Every couple needs one these days. I've heard about it on TV." Getting a dreamy look on his face he continued. "I have the picture directly in front of my eyes: Lorelai in her white wedding dress, me putting the finishing touches on her train…"

"No way!" Luke cut him off regretting already to have asked at all.

Kirk seemed a little huffy. "Why not?"

"There are a million reasons but here is the most obvious: I don't want it!"

"Then I want to be your wedding-singer." Kirk said switching to plan B.

"No!"

"Photographer?"

"No!"

"Catering Manager?"

"No!"

"Stripper?"

"God, no!" Luke snorted disgusted.

"Then let me at least give the speech."

"No!"

"You'd say no to everything that I suggest! Right?" Kirk stated factually.

"Yup!"

"But Lorelai said that she owes me a favor and that I could choose anything I'd like. And I demand to be allowed to do something at your wedding."

Cursing Lorelai, Luke pondered the different possibilities finally settling for the one that seemed the most innocuous.

"Okay, fine. Give the speech for all I care. But now get lost!"

Kirk didn't need to be told that twice. He grabbed his jacket and headed for the door taking his cell out of his pocket and dialing a number.

"Lulu? You won't believe what just happened…" was all Luke heard before the door shut behind his back.

Scratching the back of his head, Luke tried to banish the thought of having just made a bad mistake.


	5. Setting the course

_A.N.: I'm so sorry for the long wait. I had a lot of stuff going on and two years of illness to catch up with __at the university. I hope there are still some readers left. ;)_

_I decided to split this chapter in two to be able to update sooner. It's just a filler, so nothing major happens but it was necessary to 'set the course' for the rest of the story. _

_Please leave feedback. It keeps me writing. _

* * *

**SETTING THE COURSE**

It was well into the night when Luke started on his way home. After switching off the light, he turned the sign at the entrance from 'Open' to 'Closed' and stepped out into the mild spring air. It had gotten exceptionally late today and the streets of Stars Hollow were as swept emptily. The only other creature out there at this ungodly hour was a stray cat on its nightly foray. Obviously disturbed by his presence, it took to its heels, its loud meows pervading the starry night.

Sighing, he got into his truck which was parked as usual in front of the diner and drove the short distance to Lorelai's house on a direct way. Parking behind her jeep, he snatched his jacket of the passenger seat on his way out and took a moment to savor the silence. The only sound that was heard was the distant chirping of a lonely cricket.

The last couple of days had been rather hectic. While searching for the perfect wedding suit, finalizing the guest list, picking out flowers, deciding between white and pink icing for the wedding cake and fighting a constant battle with Taylor about the need of a licence for a gathering of more than 50 people, he barely had time to catch his breath.

Shaking his head at the thought of his last unpleasant dispute with the unnerving Town Selectman which had resulted in Taylor being literally thrown out of the diner, he climbed up the steps of the front porch, the stairs creaking loudly under his weight. Reaching the top step, he was suddenly blinded by a glaring light. Startled, he gave a jerk clutching a hand over his heart and tried to make out the source which was difficult considering the circumstance that he could barely see anything.

"Identify yourself, stranger!" Lorelai's bell-like voice cut through the tranquility of the night.

She had made herself comfortable on a little bench at one end of the porch. Armed with a flashlight and a half empty glass of wine, she reminded Luke greatly of someone who had just brought a neighborhood patrol into being.

"God!" he snapped sourly. "You scared me."

"You're late." she stated matter-of-factly while pointing the light at her own face, illuminating her in an eerie glow.

When Luke walked over and took a seat beside her, she focused the ray on him again.

"Would you stop putting that thing in my face?!"

"Wow! Bad day?" she replied switching off the flashlight.

"As if you wouldn't know." he retorted sharply. "What are you doing here outside?"

"I'm counting shooting stars."

"I know I will regret to have asked at all but you do what?"

"Tonight is the night where you can see the most falling stars of the year." she explained in a 'duh'-tone as if it was patently obvious and took a sip of her wine letting the heady liquid linger on her tongue a little longer than necessary before swallowing it down.

When Luke opened his mouth to say something in return, he was interrupted by the sudden ringing of the telephone in her lap.

"Sorry. Hold that thought!" Lorelai said apologetically while she pressed the button to take the call. Being left with no other option than to wait till she was done, Luke listened intently in on her side of the conversation.

"Rory?" she exclaimed cheerfully, causing Luke to raise an eyebrow. "...13?... No, I haven't. …Luke distracted me."

He heard Lorelai indignantly gasp in response to something that Rory must have said. "Dirty. … No. …Okay. … I'll call you back tomorrow. …Love you, too. Bye."

With a smile, she put the telephone between them on the bench and leaned back against the wall, a small sigh escaping her lips.

"What was that?" Luke asked bluntly, a confused expression gracing his features.

"That was Rory."

Inwardly rolling his eyes at her reply, he retorted drily: "I figured as much when you said her name. What was it about?"

"She just wanted to let me know that she saw another shooting star." Lorelai answered as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

"Wait." he replied dumbfounded. "Don't tell me that she is currently sitting on the campus looking for shooting stars as well and that you two call each other everytime you see one!"

"No!" She looked at him indignantly. "Of course not!"

Breathing a sigh of relief, Luke leaned back against the wall as well, crossing his arms over his chest.

"She is sitting in her dorm room." Lorelai added quickly.

Staring at her in disbelief, Luke uttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like 'Absolutely crazy!', 'What am I getting myself into?' and 'The apple doesn't fall far from the tree', causing Lorelai to swiftly change the subject.

"So, did anything interesting happen after I left and thought about my dingy behavior?"

"Depends on what you'd call interesting." Contemplating the best way to tell her about the incident, he thoughtfully scratched his chin. "I kind of had to pick up the pieces that you left behind."

"What…" she started to ask him what he was referring to, when it suddenly dawned on her. "Oh! - Kirk!"

"Yeah, - Kirk." he answered grumpily, emphasizing the last part. "Long story short. I had to promise that he could give a speech at our wedding."

"You did what?" Appalled, she leaped to her feet and flashed her eyes at him angrily. "How could you?!"

Growing annoyed, Luke followed suit and planted himself directly in front of her, wildly gesticulating to drive his point home.

"Wait a minute! Don't lay the blame on me! After all it's your fault."

"What are you talking about?" she asked flabbergasted. "And why the speech of all things?"

"Would you've preferred to see him strip?"

She didn't know why but the prospect of Kirk wearing a thong suddenly made her feel slightly nauseous. "God, no!"

The one time when she had seen Kirk in all his glory at the opening of the Dragonfly had etched itself on her memory and certainly didn't clamor for a repeat.

"Giving the speech was the only of his suggestions that I could remotely take the responsibility for." Luke tried to defend his decision.

"But I have already promised Michel that he can give the speech." she whined causing him to finally lose his temper.

"What? And you are getting into a fuss about me?!"

She didn't know why but she felt the sudden urge to justify herself.

"He is one of my best friends. And since Sookie is going to be my bridesmaid, I had to integrate him into the wedding, too." This conversation definitely needed to be steered back to its crunchpoint. "Besides - I still don't understand how all of this could be my fault."

"Because _you_ promised Kirk you'd make it up for him after you pulled that stunt with his food. He started to pester me after you were gone, so I chose what would cause the least damage in my opinion to shut him up."

"When I said that I'd make it up for him I meant that I would allow him to go first at the register or something like that. I definitely haven't meant to let him sabotage our wedding."

"We don't need Kirk for that" Luke huffed angrily. "the French weirdo will manage this quite by himself."

Although he knew of Kirk's tendency to march to a different drummer, he felt far less comfortable with the fact of letting the cranky Frenchman do anything that would require a certain amount of tact.

Sighing inaudibly in view of this hopeless situation, she sunk down on the bench desperately trying to find a way out of this mess that they had created. "What are we going to do?"

"I guess you'll have to decide in favour of one of them whether you like it or not." Luke suggested and sat down next to her again.

"It's not that simple." She was sure that no matter which decision she might come to, in the end somebody would get hurt. Suddenly she had a flash of inspiration: "Wait…what if … maybe we could…"

"Would you stop talking to yourself?!" Luke commanded grumpily.

Taking a deep breath, she started to explain what she had in mind.

"Ok! It's just an idea - but why don't we let them do this together?" She knew that Luke would probably hate this as much as Michel but it would at least solve the problem.

"Even if you'd somehow manage to convince them… Are you totally off your rocker?"

"Why? How much worse can it get?"

Admitting defeat he threw his hands into the air. "Do what you want but do not blame it on me afterwards if it becomes a disaster."

They sat in silence for a little while, both staring ahead into the darkness that encompassed them. Luke tried to weigh if now was the time to tell her about the other news of the day. Not one to beat around the bush, he decided to better come straight to the point.

"I asked Jess to be my best man."

"You did what?" Dumbfounded, Lorelai looked at him with wide eyes. Alarm bells had started ringing in her head at the mention of this name.

"You heard me." he replied harshly.

"You're not serious, are you?"

"Of course I am."

"Why him of all people?"

"Because he matters to me and I want him to do it."

"But…" she started to argue but he cut her off in a tone that tolerated no dissent.

"It's not up for discussion. He is going to be my best man. And that's that!"

She gave in rather involuntarily. "You must know what you do."

"I do."

"And here I thought that he wouldn't set foot in the city again unless he was dragged there by the force of arms."

"He has grown up."

"Are we talking about the same Jess here? That ungrateful, monosyllabic punk which dropped out of high school, left without a word and broke Rory's heart?"

"He got his GED." he stated calmly not further reacting to Lorelai's needling.

She was noticeably astonished. "Really?"

"Yeah."

"But still…"

"He's a good kid." Luke interrupted her decidedly.

"Oh, yeah. He and Beelzebub jr."

He definitely didn't see the funny side of that one. "Cut the crap, Lorelai!"

"I can't help it but I have a queasy feeling about this." she relented. "Every time he shows up he causes a great stir and the upshot is that Rory is getting hurt."

"Let bygones be bygones, Lorelai. Weren't all of us young and stupid once? And from what I've seen, Rory seemed to be on really good terms with him when she was on her visit in Philadelphia." he tried to allay her fears. "Give him a chance. - After all he will become your nephew as well as soon as we are married."

"_What_?" That was obviously new to her. "Why didn't I think of that? In that case I should probably rethink the whole marriage thing."

"What the hell does _that_ mean?" he asked raising his voice.

"Let's face it, Luke. The guy is trouble."

Jess was apparently right. Convincing her to play nice would be a hard piece of work.

"Come on. Cut him some slack! He has changed a lot since you've last seen him."

"That remains to be seen." she muttered smugly.

"He has finally done something with his life. He has a good job, an apartment that's worthy of the name…"

"Does it have barred windows?" Lorelai interjected spitefully but Luke deliberately ignored that remark, continuing his hymn of praise.

"…and he has written this great book all by himself."

That caught her attention. "Wait a minute." she said holding up her hand to stop his litany. "Jess has written a book?… As in - a _book_?"

"Yup."

"With sentences? _Whole _sentences?" she pressed.

"What's your point?" he asked irritated by her urge to turn everything into ridicule.

"I just didn't know that he could _talk_ in whole sentences, let alone write them." she proceeded earning her a murderous look from Luke.

"No, seriously. He's on the right track. You should've seen him. Going all business man." Luke gushed. "He was even wearing a jacket."

"I'd rather picture him in an orange jumpsuit." Lorelai interjected anew.

"That's not funny." he snapped, staring daggers at her.

"Sorry." she answered meekly obviously aware that she had crossed a line.

"Have I told you that he paid me all the money back?" That was his humble attempt to calm the waves.

"No." She wasn't sure how to react. On the one hand she wanted to hate Jess for all he was worth but on the other hand she had to acknowledge the fact that he was apparently trying to make amends for his rocky past.

"By the way!" Luke's voice suddenly broke through her thoughts. "It seems likely that you're going to get your honeymoon after all."

"Really? Oh, goodie goodie goodie." She joyfully flung her arms around his neck. "But I thought you couldn't leave Caesar alone with the diner?"

"I don't have to." he stated with a grin.

"How so?" she asked, confusion lining her beautiful face.

"Well… Jess has offered to take care of it when we're gone."

"Oh!" For a moment she didn't quite knew what to say. "I guess that earns him some brownie points."

"Yeah." They remained silent for a while listening to the sounds of the night. "So, will you do me the favor of giving him at least a slight chance to prove that he has changed before you attack him with the wrath of an overprotective mother?"

Contemplating his request, she decided for Luke's sake to put a good face on the matter.

"Well - I still have my doubts about this whole situation and I don't trust him an inch... but I promise that I won't instantly bite his head off when he shows up."

"Thanks." He breathed a sigh of relief. This was going better than expected.

"But when he hurts Rory again, he will bitterly regret it." she added quickly, causing Luke to rethink his previous thought.

Yawning loudly, he suddenly became fully aware of how late it already was. He had to get up early the next morning and he really needed a few hours of sleep.

"I'm turning in. Are you coming?" he asked pulling himself into a standing position.

"In a bit." Lorelai answered abstracted. This night had been pretty eventful and she needed a couple of minutes for herself. At his look of inquiry she added: "Go ahead! I'll be right there."

Nodding, he gave her a sweet kiss on the forehead and disappeared briskly into the house. When she heard the front door shut she grabbed the glass of wine that she had previously set aside and downed the remains in one swig.

Staring into the night sky, she couldn't shake off the feeling that something was going to happen and that that something would have an impact on all of them.

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End file.
